Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is what it takes to sit down and listen. – W Churchill.

Take time, today just to listen to someone. Avoid all temptations to think how you’re going to respond, let alone say anything in reply. Just listen to what they are saying. If they ask for your advice freely give it. If they don’t you have your answer already for you provided the opportunity for them to simply share.

Listening in this way is one of the hardest skills to do so it is something that we need to practise every day. The more that we truly listen the more we’ll find others will feel safe enough ‘open up’.

What are you planning to do today? The key word is ‘planning’. All too often we take this sentence to mean: What are you going to do today?’. The difference is subtle but significant. Spend time in planning.

Further, spend a disproportionately greater time in planning than in actually doing the task itself. This may seem counter intuitive. However, your planning will be rewarded. Your axe will be sharp and it will cut through the wood so much quicker than if you’d only given it minimal time, or no time at all!

Sharpen the axe and spend time doing so. A lot of time. It will be worth it in the end.

If I had eight hours to chop down a tree I’d spend six hours sharpening my axe.

“The #perspective on an issue is distorted when so close to it. It looks much bigger than it really is. #Step away and the issue now looks smaller. You can now see other things around you more easily too. ” S Long

“A #principle is something that everyone must live by. If you believe on principle that you should act in one way to another then you must accept that they can act that way to you.” S. Long. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Bible. Matthew 7:12

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Stephen Long

Enjoy this blog. It's a blog that will hopefully encourage you to think and reflect. I hope this sounds like the sort of thing you want to do. I welcome your comments and do email me (stephen (at) stephenlongcoaching (dot) com) anything you'd like me to post a thought on as well; please do suggest. Let's make this a blog worth reading.

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